NEIGHBORHOOD’S HERO WON LONG LEGAL BATTLE
Soft-spoken leader spent 20 years fighting Fort Lauderdale officials over environmental contamination, and he died claiming a victory
FORT LAUDERDALE — To kids in the neighborhood, he was “Pops.” To family and friends, he was “Mickey” — a nickname he got as a baby because he was tiny as a mouse when born, or so the story goes.
And to the rest of the community, he was Mr. Fort Lauderdale, a gifted storyteller who could tell you just about anything you wanted to know about the history of his town, including those days of segregation when a Black child couldn’t play at the white beach.
Walter “Mickey” Hinton, a soft-spoken leader who spearheaded a legal fight against the city and won, died June 30 in a hospice bed. He was 83. The cause of death: kidney disease.
According to his attorney, the illness was ultimately caused by toxic ash that blew through the air and contaminated the ground near the 1900 block of Sistrunk Boulevard. As a child, Hinton played in the ash that blanketed the ground, his attorney said.
The ash came from a municipal incinerator that opened in the 1920s, spewing toxins until it closed three decades later.
In 1961, Hinton and wife, Joan, moved into their home in the predominantly Black Durrs neighborhood, just 150 feet from where the incinerator once stood.
Years later, the Hintons began suffering from chronic health issues they say were caused by toxic waste from the incinerator. Two daughters were diagnosed with cancer; one died in 2010. She was 52.
For years, Hinton complained to city officials about neighbors and friends who got sick, too. In 2007, he became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against Fort Lauderdale.
After a 13-year fight, Fort Lauderdale agreed in May to settle the lawsuit for $18 million. The settlement awaits court approval, so damages have not been paid yet to the Hintons and more than 180 named plaintiffs.
But Hinton, who spent 20 years dogging city officials about the environmental contamination, died knowing he’d won, said daughter Ta’Veca Hinton Collins.
“That’s his legacy — the victory,” Collins said. “He would say he made it to the finish line. And that was his legacy.”
To the neighborhood, he was none other than a hero.
“He was a big deal,” said Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Robert McKinzie, describing Hinton as a walking history book who never gave up the fight. “He was a giant. He will be deeply missed, never forgotten.”
Hinton’s funeral was held July 7 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Fort Lauderdale. Because of COVID-19, the service was capped at 100 people.
On the day of the funeral, dozens of friends lined the street leading to the church holding up signs saying: “Thank you, Mickey.”
“My dad was a living legend,” said Collins, his daughter. “Everybody knew him. People would call him ‘Pops’ and ‘Granddaddy Mickey.’ And we’d say, ‘But you’re our pop.’ And he’d say, ‘I’m everybody’s
“That’s his legacy — the victory. He would say he made it to the finish line. And that was his legacy.” Ta’Veca Hinton Collins, on her father, Walter “Mickey” Hinton
Pop.’ He poured that same love into everyone he came across.”
He was the kind of guy who’d grill up some barbecue for a group of state regulators, said Reginal Clyne, his attorney.
“When the state environmental people came down, he cooked a barbecue for them,” Clyne said. “And they were just shocked. He was just a really nice guy. He was sort of the godfather of that neighborhood. He’d look out for people.”
Hinton was born on June 17, 1937, in the tiny town of Midway outside Tallahassee.
One of six children, he was the first in the family to attend college, graduating with a business degree from West Virginia State College.
He and wife, who goes by “Joann,” met as teens and married on Jan. 2, 1958.
It was Hinton’s larger-than-life personality that caught his future wife’s attention.
“He talked to anybody and everybody,” she said. “He made time for everyone. He thought that everyone was special.”
One Christmas Day in 1973, he went out for ice and came back with a family whose car had broken down.
“He saw these people stranded with six kids,” his wife said. “They were out of gas and had no money. He brought them back to our home for Christmas dinner. And he got them a hotel room, too.”
In 1960, Hinton opened his own business designing and building swimming pools for homes and resorts throughout the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean. In 1996, he switched to fulltime consulting but kept on traveling to job sites.
A natural leader, Hinton started the Durrs Homeowners Association, serving as its president for more than 30 years.
For Hinton, Durrs was always home.
“People have asked us why we didn’t move,” his wife said. “We had to fight for this neighborhood. We had to protect people who didn’t have a voice. And that’s why we never left.”
Hinton is survived by his wife, Joan; one brother, Col. Richard Hinton; three daughters, Ta’Veca Hinton Collins, Laschryl “Shebby” Huff and Tiffany Hinton; Maurice Robinson; Linval Smith; and several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by daughter Gale Martin.
In lieu of flowers, his family requests donations to the American Kidney Fund.